Plans for two bistros postponed by city planners

By Grace Lovins

Reviews of plans for outdoor dining areas for two Birmingham bistros — Luxe at 525 N. Old Woodward and Origins Cafe at 163 West Maple — were delayed by the city’s planning board during the Wednesday, April 23, meeting because board members were left with questions regarding both restaurants' plans that went unanswered as no representatives from either bistro were in attendance.

Per planning director Nick Dupuis, both bistros submitted plans for outdoor dining facilities, Luxe for a renovation of their existing facility and Origins Cafe for a new outdoor dining platform.

Origins Cafe’s proposed platform would be located in the West Maple right of way with space for five tables and 20 seats. Dupuis noted that several elements required for site plan approval were missing from the plans including the pedestrian walking path and the material of the proposed barriers. The plans also indicate the bistro will expand beyond their property line which required approval of the property owner to proceed.

When it comes to Luxe bistro, the planning board has held pre-application discussions on the bistro’s outdoor dining plans during the March 26 and April 9 meetings. Luxe’s previous outdoor dining area was located on both sides of the sidewalk, which is no longer allowed under the outdoor dining ordinance.

The new proposal looks to add retractable awnings over the dining area while also moving all tables and chairs to one side, reducing their seat count to 36 seats but meeting the ordinance requirements.

As with Origins Cafe, representatives for Luxe were not in attendance for the meeting, so questions raised by board members during their previous discussions could not be answered. Board members agreed to push the discussion and asked Dupuis to bring the bistro’s current outdoor dining set up and pictures of the area to the next discussion on the topic.

A formal motion by the board was made only for postponing discussions on Origin Cafe’s outdoor dining proposal as Luxe’s plans were part of a pre-application discussion. Board members voted 5-0 to postpone the final site plan and design review of Origins Cafe and agreed to push discussions on Luxe’s proposal until representatives are able to attend a meeting.